extrapolate

Definition of extrapolate

extrapolated

;

extrapolating

transitive verb

1: to infer (values of a variable in an unobserved interval) from values within an already observed interval

2a: to project, extend, or expand (known data or experience) into an area not known or experienced so as to arrive at a usually conjectural knowledge of the unknown area extrapolates present trends to construct an image of the futureb: to predict by projecting past experience or known data extrapolate public sentiment on one issue from known public reaction on others

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Examples of extrapolate in a Sentence

We can extrapolate the number of new students entering next year by looking at how many entered in previous years.

With such a small study it is impossible to extrapolate accurately.

Recent Examples of extrapolate from the Web

And the study extrapolates some of these U.S. trends to the world at large—another major leap—anticipating only a four-year time lag before autonomous vehicles pass their tipping point in other key markets.

The local study found that 82 complaints of minimum wage law violations were filed in the county in 2016, only a small fraction of the 40,000 violations the study estimated by extrapolating state data and complaints in other regions.

But our point here is that these cultural differences are too often grotesquely exaggerated in the minds of the French, who extrapolate from a visible radical minority rather than from a more representative sample of Muslims.

Which unfortunately is the history of these very rare occasions when women have leading roles in front of or behind the camera, that one property and its success is then extrapolated to be evidence of viability writ large.

Kagia extrapolated that research by applying the average prescription decline of 11 percent to annual pharmaceutical spending for the most common medical marijuana qualifying conditions (see chart below).

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'extrapolate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The Many Uses of extrapolate

Scientists worry about the greenhouse effect because they have extrapolated the rate of carbon-dioxide buildup and predicted that its effect on the atmosphere will become increasingly severe. On the basis of their extrapolations, they have urged governments and businesses to limit factory and automobile emissions. Notice that it's acceptable to speak of extrapolating existing data (to produce new data), extrapolating from existing data (to produce new data), or extrapolating new data (from existing data)—in other words, it isn't easy to use this word wrong.

Origin and Etymology of extrapolate

Latin extra outside + English -polate (as in interpolate) — more at extra-